1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to environmental aroma generators functioning to exude a fragrance into the atmosphere of a room, and more particularly to a reversible fragrance-emitting unit adapted to rest on a table or other flat surface in either an upright position in which substantially no fragrance is emitted or in an upside down position in which fragrance is emitted. Hence to turn the unit "off," one has simply to place it in its upright position.
2. Status of Prior Art
As used herein, the term "aroma" or "fragrance" is not limited to pleasant or savory smells but encompasses scents that function as insecticides, air fresheners, deodorants or any other odor that acts to condition, modify or otherwise charge the atmosphere.
The aroma of perfumes and perfume-based products such as colognes and toilet waters was originally derived from the essential oil of plants. However, since the early 19th century, chemists have succeeded in analyzing many essential oils and in creating thousands of synthetics, some simulating natural products and others yielding altogether new scents. Perfumes today are largely blends of natural and synthetic scents and of fixatives which equalize vaporization and enhance pungency. In most liquid scents, the ingredients are combined with a highly volatile alcohol carrier.
There are many situations in which the environment of a living room, a kitchen, an office or other enclosure occupied by people is rendered unpleasant by tobacco smoke, food smells or other pungent odors. It is often not practical, as in the winter months, to open a window or operate an air conditioner to clear the air. The common practice, therefore, is to mask or modify the prevailing atmosphere by some sort of air freshener device or aroma generator.
In some situations, the atmosphere of a room may be clear and free of odors, yet it may be desirable to introduce a fragrance in order to create a more romantic ambience or to induce other effects, for personal moods are highly influenced by odors. Thus, the effect of a musk-like odor is very different from that of sea air and such differences can be exploited when manipulating the environment.
It is known to provide an air freshener or fragrance generator in the form of a bottle containing a volatile liquid in which a wick is immersed, the upper end of the wick extending above the bottle and being exposed to the air. Such devices not only are subject to spillage or leakage, but, in order to adjust the rate of volatilization, means must be provided to vary the extent of wick exposure.
The patent to Meek, U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,395, discloses an air freshener in which a vented cylindrical container is filled with particles or absorbent material impregnated with a volatile air-freshener liquid. The vented container is telescoped within a cylindrical housing and is provided with detents making it possible to more or less raise the vented container relative to its housing and thereby more or less expose the impregnated particles to the atmosphere. In this way, one can adjust the rate of odor or air freshener dissemination. A vapor dispenser having telescoping elements to adjust the rate of dissemination is also shown in the Martens et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,281.
In the Munnecke U.S. Pat. No. 2,578,827, a deodorizer is disclosed in which an absorbent filler held in a container is impregnated with a volatile liquid. In this unit, the rate of emission is controlled by an adjustable shutter in which two sets of holes are more or less brought into registration with each other.
Apart from the mechanical complexity of the units disclosed in the above-identified patents is the fact that that they have an appearance that is strictly utilitarian and devoid of aesthetic appeal. The functional character of these units is not objectionable when they are installed in a workplace or kitchen. But in a living room or in other well-appointed enclosures, odor emitting units of the prior art type strike a discordant note, and they are usually not acceptable. Where one wishes to conceal the source of scent emission and give the impression that the atmosphere is naturally agreeable, this purpose is not served by prior art forms of aroma generators whose true function is undisguised.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,223 discloses a fragrance emitting unit having a pleasing decorative appearance which renders it acceptable in a well-appointed room or other enclosure, the rate of fragrance emission being adjustable from an almost "off" to a full "on" rate without the need for mechanical expedients.
The unit disclosed in my prior patent consists of a fenestrated open-ended shell in an hourglass formation whose inlet and outlet ends are attached to inlet and outlet boxes of like dimensions, both having bottom walls. The inlet box has an open top, whereas the outlet box is closed by a top wall to define an internal chamber which extends through the shell between the bottom wall of the inlet box and the top wall of the outlet box. The chamber contains a charge of fragrance-emitting pellets in an amount sufficient to almost fill the inlet box when the unit is placed in its upright position in which the inlet box rests on the table and the pellets are confined within the inlet box and therefore emit relatively little fragrance, the unit being effectively "off." When, however, the unit is reversed to occupy its upside down position in which the outlet box rests on the table, the pallets then occupy the shell and emit fragrance through the openings therein at a much greater rate and the unit is "on."
From the commercial standpoint, the unit disclosed in my prior patent has certain practical drawbacks, for it requires the use of aromatic pellets impregnated with a volatile liquid fragrance. These are relatively expensive to make. Another objection is that this unit has a relatively complex structure, for it requires an inlet and an outlet box at the ends of the openended shell.
Also of prior art interest are the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,414,902, 1/1947 Schlumboln PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,067, 10/1956, Shinberg PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,982,458, 5/1961, Hennion PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,996, 1/1978, Koziol PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,675, 4/1979, Van Breen et al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,281, 9/1980, Martens, III et al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,829, 10/1980, Mike PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,840, 8/1982, Gaiser et al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,203, 3/1984, Reyner PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,870, 6/1985, Spector PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,351, 8/1985, Wilson